Finding support in the last place I'd look

So the latest edition of MOM went to the printers yesterday (yay me!) and it's gonna be a gorgeous Saturday in Spruce Grove, Alberta. I'm gonna make me some coffee (big surprise there!) and watch the sunrise because it's 4:24 a.m.!

Who the hell in their right mind gets up at 2:47 a.m. on a Saturday!! A puppy owner, that's who!

Happy woke me up to go outside (which is a nice change of pace from the first couple of days he was here) but I have this terrible habit of not being able to fall asleep once I've been woken up.

Usually, I can read myself to sleep if I check out the news on my imposter berry (yes, I sleep with my BB, only because it has an alarm clock on it! *sheepish grin here* Ok, sometimes I do check FB or Twitter when I'm up at some ungodly hour :)

I digress.

I couldn't find any decent thing to read and my pal Perez hadn't updated his blog since I'd last checked it out, so off to Twitter I went.

I saw an update by Kim Berube, publisher of Real Woman on the Run in Lacombe, which is the polar opposite of MOM, and I decided to check out her blog.

Gotta tell you, I was captivated. Real Woman on the Run has never been my cup of tea. In fact, when Kim and I were at the AMPA conference in March, she nailed it on the head when she said, "People who like my magazine are usually offended by yours while people who like your magazine think mine is dry and boring."

Ah, it's funny 'cause it's true! Kim plays it safe and me, not so much but we both have our audiences and that works for us!

I digress again but bear (bare?) with me it's 4:32 a.m. and I haven't had coffee yet.

Anyhoo, I checked out her blog and came across a very recent post about her being frustrated about her business, not having any more cash to invest and honestly considering quitting (by the end of the post she had found a little more drive and I think *hope* she is sticking with it).

A history lesson here: Kim and I launched our mags at excatly the same time! We used the same printer but had no idea who the other woman was until I saw her magazine and contacted her for a meeting.

The point is, Kim verbalized what I have been feeling for almost a year. She's going through the same ups and downs as I am but I never would have guessed it because she seems so composed, polished and confident.

It's weird, really, because in my next Diary of a Mad Publisher, I write about being frustrated with the progress of the business (you'll have to wait until the issue hits the streets to read about it).

So, for the last 2 hours I have been reading most of Kim's blog entries. Fascinating.

For the longest time I have felt very alone in this business because I have no one who can relate to what I'm going through. It's not like owning a store or operating a MLM business, indepenantly publishing a magazine is frustrating because there isn't a tonne of people who can relate to the trials and tribulations of this particular type of entrepreneurship.

Wah, wah, wah, I know. I'm not complaining, actually, I'm kinda rejuvenated because I know there is another person out there who is feeling the same way about the same things I am!

So, it's 4:41 a.m. and my Woodwick candle is crackling and making me feel somewhat sleepy. But, I know myself and I know that once I go back to bed I will just toss and turn and think about all of the things I should be doing.

Instead, I think I will ... oh who the hell knows. I can't think. I haven't had coffee and I don't like making plans.

I do know that I'm taking princess Lola to the Farmer's Market today and then to Wabamun for the festivities out there... maybe I should try and get some sleep?

t.